The Time Goddess
by kshadow
Summary: Rose Tyler was no longer human. And as she waits with her new friend Amy Pond for the Doctor to come rescue them from Demon's Run, she can't help but wonder how the Doctor is going to react to her return.
1. Chapter 1

River Song sighed as Rory, dressed as the Roman Centurion he was, left. River jumped as a voice sounded from behind her.

"Hello, Melody Pond."

River turned, facing the woman sitting on her bed, and spoke. "Shouldn't you be with the Doctor?"

"Today is the day the Doctor finds me. And the day he finds out who you truly are. And River, please do stop kissing my husband. You're giving him mixed signals. He probably thinks you two end up as lovers in his future."

"I doubt that."

"He is a man," the woman, hidden in the shadows, replied.

River paused, considering the woman's words. "Perhaps. But it's so fun, teasing him like that."

The woman on the bed rolled her eyes, shifting so that River could sit beside her.

"Why are you here?" River asked the woman.

"The Doctor, my Doctor, is going to his death today. I couldn't be there, I didn't want to see my husband die, not again."

"So you came to visit the woman who kills him?"

"Oh, he'll be fine," the woman said, waving her hand in dismissal. "But you, dear Melody, won't be."

"You forget that it's already happened for me, sweetie."

"I must go. The Doctor is expecting me to be there with the Tardis after he's done with his business."

The woman rose from the bed, her blond hair shining in the dim light as her golden eyes met River's. "Goodbye, Melody."

River smiled at her best friend. "Goodbye, Rose."


	2. Chapter 2

The inhabitants of Demon's Run were not unaccustomed to the sound of screams. Especially if they were to pass by the forbidden door.

No one, no one save for Madame Kovarian and those with her express permission were allowed to enter the room behind the heavily locked door, but rumors of what lurked behind the door floated through the ranks. It was rumored that great power, evil worse than the Doctor was held there. But few knew the truth.

Behind the door was a woman, young in appearance but as old as Time itself, a girl who was once human, but now was a goddess, able to bend Time and Space to her very will. She was known as the Bad Wolf, but her name was Rose Tyler.

Rose paced around the small room, listening to the pounding of footsteps that passed by the door of her prison. Something was happening, she could sense it. Madame Kovarian, or, as Rose referred to her, Lady Eye Patch, hadn't visited in several days, which rather than reassuring Rose, alarmed her. It meant that something more important to Kovarian had happened. Something that occupied her time more than Rose did. And Rose had occupied her time for several years now, Kovarian and her band of merry men torturing Rose in vain attempts to discover, and control, the extent of her powers. But Rose was the Bad Wolf, and she would not bow to the whims of a mortal who wished to use her power for selfish reasons.

The door flew open, and Rose leapt back, narrowing her eyes at Kovarian.

Kovarian smirked. "It has occurred to me that we have been neglecting our duties as your gracious hosts. As such, you will be transported to new quarters. Arms."

Rose obediently held out her arms, and Kovarian handcuffed her wrists, before pushing Rose out of the door, guards swarming around her at her appearance.

Rose eyes flashed gold as the group made their way through the halls of the base, until they approached a white door, a guard on either side, the door sliding open at their approach. "Your new quarters," Kovarian announced. "I expect you'll find your new roommates fascinating, to say the least."

Rose was pushed into the room, the door closing behind her.

Down below the balcony Rose was standing on, looking out the window, was a redheaded woman cradling something in her arms. As Rose descended the stairs and approached the woman, she could see it was a baby.

"Who are you?" The woman asked defensively.

"Rose. And you are?" Rose asked.

The woman stared at Rose for a moment, deciding whether to answer or not.

"Amy Pond. This is my daughter, Melody," Amy replied.

Rose studied the woman, sensing that the woman had spent time in the Time Vortex. This woman was a time traveler, and her baby, there was something different about little Melody. Rose wasn't certain, but it felt like Melody wasn't completely human.

"Why are you here?" Rose asked curiously.

"They want Melody." Amy turned, staring out the window once more. "I used to travel with a man, and I will once more whenever he rescues me, and they took me. Apparently, traveling with this man made my baby special. They're going to take her from me. You?"

"I used to travel with a man, as well. A brilliant, crazy man. And he was in trouble. So, I looked absorbed the Time Vortex and became a goddess. Now, Kovarian wants to use my power to stop the Doctor. Or so I've gathered."

"I used to travel with him. Just as you do now," Rose guessed, watching Amy smile. Even from speaking to her for only a few short moments, Rose could feel that Amy was the sort of girl who the Doctor would travel with.

"Why did you stop?"

Rose turned away from Amy, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "I fell," she said simply.

Amy opened her mouth to ask another question, but upon catching sight of Rose's empty eyes, remained silent.

Rose fingered the ring on her finger, her wedding band to the Doctor, the metacrisis Doctor, her human Doctor. Jonathan Noble, that was the name he had chosen for himself. They had been supposed to live out their lives together, as mortals. But Rose was the Bad Wolf, and that was not her destiny. She was destined for something far greater. And her Fate was coming to get her.


	3. Chapter 3

Amy wasn't entirely convinced of her new friend. She believed Rose when Rose said she had traveled with the Doctor, after all, Amy herself couldn't have been the Doctor's first companion in 909 years. But the woman had this glint in her eerie golden eyes, like she wasn't entirely there.

But Amy was happy for the company, and said nothing, instead telling Rose of her travels with the Doctor, and, every once in a while, getting a story in return. The one thing though, that Rose would not speak of, other than that first day, when she had said she fell, was why Rose had stopped traveling with the Doctor.

In the beginning, Amy had pestered Rose about it, wanting to know what could possibly make the woman give up the wonderful life that came with traveling with the Doctor, but, as the days in their prison passed by, Amy began to suspect that she hadn't left willingly. Something had happened, something that had kept Rose and the Doctor separated.

"What is he like?" Rose interrupted Amy, who was telling the story of how she and the Doctor had met Van Gogh.

Amy stopped. "What do you mean?"

"What is he like now? He's regenerated since I last met him, I know that. Tell me about him. What does he look like? What does he wear? Is he happy?"

Amy opened her mouth to respond, before pausing. "I think you may be about to find out yourself," the redhead said, rising with Melody in her arms to look out the window.

The army was gathering, as well as the Headless Monks, around a stage where a man Rose knew only as the Colonel stood.

Both prisoners turned as the door slid open, and Madame Kovarian stepped into the room.

"It's time."

Amy gazed down at little Melody, and Rose turned away, giving the two a moment as Amy began to tell Melody about Rory, Melody's father, promising that the man would come for them.

Rose refocused on Amy as the woman began backing away from Kovarian, begging her not to take her baby, before finally relenting, placing Melody in the basket Kovarian had brought with her.

Rose closed her eyes, focusing on Melody's future. Although she could not see the specifics, she was certain that they would meet again. When and where, who knew. All that mattered was that Rose would see her goddaughter again, as Amy had named her new friend godmother to Melody.

Amy watched, tears falling from her eyes as Kovarian took away her baby.

"Amelia Pond!"

Amy gasped, rushing to the window, while Rose lurked out of sight.

"Doctor!"

Rose bit her lip, resisting the urge to hurry to the window, but she couldn't disrupt the Doctor's plan. Her appearance would surprise him, and she'd rather that not happen, not until it was safe for him to see her again.

"Get your coat!" The Doctor shouted, his voice unfamiliar to Rose, but clearly still his.

Amy grabbed Rose's hand, and Rose squeezed it back, trying to offer Amy what little comfort she could. After several tense, painful moments, someone pounded on the door.

Amy dropped Rose's hand, and grabbed an long, slender object off the table. "Who's there? I'm armed, and dangerous, and very, very cross!"

A man's voice, not the Doctor's, sounded outside their prison.

"Yeah, like I don't already know that!"

Amy gaped. "Rory! Is that you?"

The sound of a sonic screwdriver reached their ears as Rory answered. "Give me one moment."

"Rory, they took her. They took our baby."

The door slid open, and in walked a man in roman armor, cradling a baby.

"That, Mrs. Williams," Rory said to Amy, not noticing Rose standing a bit out of the way. "Is never going to happen."

Rory hurried to Amy, who immediately began examining Melody. "Oh, Rory, what have they done to her?"

"Nothing, she's perfect. I checked." Rory choked out. "Oh, man, I swore I wasn't going to cry."

Rose stifled a giggle, and Amy and Rory both turned to face her.

"Oh, Rory, this is Rose. She used to travel with the Doctor."

"Why are you here?" Rory asked curiously, shielding Melody from Rose, a cautious gesture Rose could appreciate.

"Why is who here?"

A man who could only be the Doctor entered the room, and Rose drank in the sight of him.

He was different now, but Rose knew he would be. His hair no longer defied gravity, instead flopping over to one side. Gone were the suit, long jacket, and converse, instead he wore a tweed coat and a red bowtie.

"They're talking about me," Rose said softly, stepping forward. "Hello, Doctor."

The Doctor's face went from cheerful to blank in a moment, and he approached Rose.

"You can't be here," he said, circling the girl. "How are you here?"

"I am the Bad Wolf," Rose answered. "I create myself. Those words meant so much more than we had ever known, Doctor. And I brought myself back here, were the Silence captured me, wanting to control my power."

Rose bit her lip as the Doctor stood in front of her, staring into her golden eyes.

The Doctor, after a long, tense moment, smiled brightly. "What do you think? Regeneration can be tricky business," he said, turning in a circle.

"It's different. But good different," Rose reassured the Doctor. "I like the bowtie."

"Ha! Did you hear that, Amy? Rose Tyler, my Rose, likes the bowtie. Now come here, both of you," the Doctor said, hugging both Amy and Rose, before releasing them, before bringing Rose back into a hug meant solely for her.

"I am so happy to see you," the Doctor said, burying his face in Rose's hair.

There were things that still needed to be done, words that still needed to be said, but, for now, Rose Tyler was happy, just being in her Doctor's arms.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose leaned against the Tardis as she waited for the Doctor to finish with his business here on Demon's Run. She had wanted to stay with him, but realized, that, if things went wrong, as they had a habit of doing, she was too weak to be of much use.

The Doctor ran past Rose, who immediately began running after the Doctor upon seeing the panicked look upon his face as he shouted Amy's name.

"I know," Amy said hoarsely, staring down at her empty arms.

"Doctor?" Rose asked quietly.

"The replaced Melody with a Flesh copy, and let us take the copy. They have Melody, Rose," the Doctor explained quietly.

Rose reached out, placing a hand on Amy's shoulder, the redhead sobbing in her husband's arms. "We'll find her," Rose promised. "I promise."

Amy turned in Rory's arms to face Rose. "You can't know that."

"I looked at her timeline. I don't know when, or how, but we meet your daughter again. She isn't gone forever," Rose told her friend, not telling her everything she knew. Amy would discover the truth for herself in due time.

Amy didn't question Rose's words, but took them as the reassurance they were. Amy would see her daughter again.

The Doctor glanced curiously at Rose, but sensed that now wasn't the right time to ask the questions he so desperately wanted answers to.

The quartet of time travelers returned to the large room where the Tardis was located, tears still leaking from Amy's eyes.

There, leaning against the Tardis, as Rose had been doing only a few minutes ago, was a very familiar woman, with curly hair.

"Hello, sweetie," River Song said, staring at Rose with a smile on her face.

"River!" Rose met River halfway, and the two women hugged each other, laughter bubbling from their lips.

"What?" The Doctor glanced between the two women curiously, trying to figure out the connection between them, before seeming to remember that River hadn't come, hadn't helped them when they needed her.

"This could have been avoided if you had helped," the Doctor ranted as River and Rose released one another, still grinning at each other. "But you weren't here!"

"Doctor!" Rose interrupted his rant, before River could retaliate. Rose pulled the Doctor over to the wooden cradle from Gallifrey, pointing at the name written on the crib. "Read it."

The Doctor glanced between a smiling Rose, and nervous River, and a confused Rory and Amy, before reading the name painted on the crib, before looking back up with a gasp.

River stepped forward, the Doctor gaping at her. "Hello, sweetie."

"But, that means…" the Doctor trailed off as River nodded, humming in agreement.

"And we…" the Doctor said, flapping his hands in the air.

"Yes," River agreed.

"And you knew?" The Doctor asked, turning his gaze on Rose.

"Yes!" Both River and Rose said.

The Doctor squared his shoulders, straightening his red bowtie. "How do I look?"

"Fantastic," River and Rose chorused.

The Doctor grinned smugly, before grabbing Rose's hand, dragging her back to the Tardis. "River, I trust you to get everyone home. Rose and I will see all of you soon, I'm sure of it."

Rose waved goodbye to everyone as the she and the Doctor entered the Tardis, Rose plopping down on one of the benches in the console room, the Doctor settling next to her, absentmindedly fiddling with a strand of her hair.

"How did you come back? Why did you come back? What about me?"

"Jonathan. That's the name he chose. A human name for a human life, he said. Jonathan Noble. The Daleks, they survived in the universe. And they killed John, and destroyed our Tardis. I'll never be able to forget that night. I managed to hide from them long enough to build a new dimension cannon, which I destroyed upon returning her. I thought my problems were over, that all I had to do was find you. But that's not how it worked."

"Tell me," the Doctor said quietly, sliding an arm around Rose's trembling shoulders.

"First I met River. Or, rather, River found me. She told me that I couldn't find you yet, that there was still something that had to be done first, but she didn't tell me what. We struck up a friendship, and she told me who she was. She told me that her real name was Melody Pond. She also helped me with my powers."

"Powers?"

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself." Rose's eyes glowed golden, and the hum of the Tardis grew louder, and happier, her song running through Rose's mind, a song of the Tardis welcoming home her beloved sister.

"But I took the Time Vortex out of you!"

"Doctor, do you really think a mere human would remain unaffected, unchanged, by looking into the Time Vortex? The effects were hidden, taking place over a length of time, until, finally, I became what I am today."

"And what are you, Rose?" The Doctor asked hesitantly.

"I am the Bad Wolf," Rose responded. "I'm one of a kind, the closest thing to me is a Tardis, but I'm not a Tardis. I'm something new and unique, something that can't be categorized. The Tardis, both mine and yours, recognize me as their sister."

"How did you end up here, though?"

"Just as a Tardis can, I can travel through Time and Space at will. I ended up being tracked by Madame Kovarian, who created a trap for me, which led to me being captured. She wanted my powers, but the Bad Wolf will protect herself. I will always protect myself."

"What kind of trap?"

Rose said nothing, merely laying her head on the Doctor's shoulder, sighing heavily.

"I was lucky, I guess, with the Daleks, back in the other universe. Torchwood had finally realized I wasn't aging, and they were planning to run some tests on me to discover why. The Daleks distracted them," Rose said bitterly. "John and I were at the front of the lines, trying to destroy the Daleks."

Rose's confidence had never once wavered, admirable for the girl who had been tortured for over a year now, but the Doctor could sense that she was scared. Scared that he was going to send her away, leave her alone once more. But he had no plans of doing that this time. The first time she had come back, she had saved his life. The second time she had come back, he had sent her away. And the third time, well, he had no plans of sending her away this time.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose didn't dream. Dreaming would mean that she was sleeping, and she rarely slept. She hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep since John's death five years ago.

Was it five years? Or had it been more?

As something akin to a Tardis, Rose could float in the Time Vortex just as the Tardis did, and it was something she had done in between leaving the parallel universe after her husband's death and meeting River Song. River had gotten her out of her depression, and helped her start to figure out things.

So, in reality, Rose had no idea how long it had been since Jonathan's death. Maybe it was five years, maybe it was five hundred, and Rose had a sinking feeling it was closer to the latter.

Rose wandered through the halls of the Tardis, feeling more at peace than she had in a long time. She entered the kitchen, thankfully the same as it had been when she had left, it hadn't changed, unlike the Doctor and the console. But, if Rose were to be honest, she didn't mind the changes. She was a different person than she had been when the Doctor left her and Jonathan on Bad Wolf Bay, and the Doctor was a different person, so it worked out.

Rose made herself a cup of tea, jumping in surprise as she turned and spotted the Doctor, the new new new Doctor, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"I can leave," the Doctor said, moving as if to turn and leave.

Rose smiled, shaking her head. "Stay, please. If you don't mind," she said, fingering her diamond encrusted wedding band.

The movement of Rose's fingers drew the Doctor's gaze, who smiled sadly upon seeing the ring.

"You married him, then?" The Doctor poured himself a cup of tea before sitting down across from Rose.

"Ten years, almost. He was killed about a month before our anniversary. We were going to go back to New Earth, and he promised to buy me chips. He was finally going to buy me chips." Rose laughed, caught up in memories.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," the Doctor reached across the table, placing his hand over hers.

"Don't be," Rose told him. "It was his time, I know that. I knew, only a few months into our marriage, when we discovered I hadn't changed since the Game Station, that I was going to outlive him. That's why we came up with the plans for a new dimension cannon, so that, when the time came, I could come back to you. My return wasn't a spur of the moment idea. It was several years of planning, Doctor."

"And he was okay with that?"

"John only ever wanted me to be happy. With him, or without him. He knew that I wouldn't return here until his death, and, by designing the dimension cannon, he was ensuring I would be happy upon his death. We just didn't expect his death to happen as it did."

"What's going to happen with us, Rose?"

"That depends on you, Doctor. I love you. I've loved you for a long time. But if you don't want me like that, then I can accept that, and just be your friend."

The Doctor stood up, making his way to the other side of the table so he could kneel before Rose.

"Rose Tyler. Or is it Noble?" The Doctor paused, waiting for Rose's answer.

"Tyler-Noble," Rose answered softly, staring into the Doctor's eyes.

"Rose Tyler-Noble," the Doctor began once more. "I've had a long time to think about this, and not a day goes by when I wish I had taken you with me that day on Bad Wolf Bay. I don't regret leaving you there with John, but I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you at my side, however long that may be. So, Rose Tyler-Noble, will you marry me?"

Rose grinned, not surprised to find herself crying silently. John's last words to her had been an order to let herself be happy with the Doctor, and she knew, that if he could see this from wherever he was now, he would approve of what she was about to say.

"Of course, Doctor," Rose responded, pulling the Doctor up as she stood. "But first, there's something I have to do."

Rose pulled the Doctor into a kiss, snogging him thoroughly. Rose pulled back slightly, grinning at the panting Doctor.

"But, I can only marry you on one condition," Rose warned the Doctor.

"What is it?" He asked cautiously.

"I want Jack, Mickey, and Martha at our wedding. I didn't really get to meet Martha, but she was your friend, so she has to be there. Along, of course, with Amy, Rory, and River. Anyone you want to invite?"

The Doctor gaped slightly. "I'll get back to you on that," he promised, before remembering. "I know you already have a wedding band, but here," he said, pulling a silver ring out of his pocket.

Rose grinned, sliding off her wedding band, which she then slid onto a chain that had been around her neck, before allowing the Doctor to slide her second engagement ring onto her finger.

"It's beautiful," Rose said, watching the gemstone, a sapphire, glitter in the light of the kitchen.

"So, all of Time and Space at our disposal, where do you want to go?" The Doctor grinning at the girl he loved, the girl who had just agreed to marry him.


End file.
